Social conversation management

ABSTRACT

A method for managing conversations in social media and networks may include selecting, by a processor, a message posted to a social medium for management and associating a goal with the selected message for management. The method may also include monitoring, by the processor, other messages posted to the social medium for messages that are related to the selected message for management. The method may additionally include determining, by the processor, whether the goal has been met based on monitoring the other messages posted to the social network. A first predetermined function is performed in response to the goal being met or a second predetermined function is performed in response to the goal not being met.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the present invention relate to social networks, messageboards, online mail clients and the like, and more particularly to amethod, system and computer program product for managing conversationsin social media and networks.

Online social networks are a universal mechanism to connect people andinformation in logical and organized ways which enable sharing andprocessing of information between the members of the social network.Common mechanisms for sharing and processing information on onlinesocial networks may include, but are not necessarily limited to, a wallor virtual wall or message board where a user or member of the socialnetwork can post messages for other users or members; an activity streamwhich may be a list of messages or posts received by a user or memberand may also include a list of messages or posts sent by the user ormember; a timeline that may chronologically list a series of events, andprofiles of users or members that can be accessed for information abouta particular user or member. These mechanisms enable users or members torapidly share information with others and gather information from othersin the network. At times, an exchange of messages or conversationbetween users may progress in ways which may be considered as beinguncontrolled or lacking direction, progressing at a slow pace and inneed of acceleration or a boost.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for managingconversations in social media and networks may include selecting, by aprocessor, a message posted to a social medium for management andassociating a goal with the selected message for management. The methodmay also include monitoring, by the processor, other messages posted tothe social medium for messages that are related to the selected messagefor management. The method may additionally include determining, by theprocessor, whether the goal has been met based on monitoring the othermessages posted to the social network. A first predetermined functionmay be performed in response to the goal being met or a secondpredetermined function may be performed in response to the goal notbeing met.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system formanaging conversations in social media and networks may include aprocessor and a module operating on the processor for managingconversations in a social network. The module may be configured toperform a set of functions that may include selecting a message postedto a social medium for management and associating a goal with theselected message for management. The set of functions may also includemonitoring other messages posted to the social medium for messages thatare related to the selected message for management. The set of functionsmay additionally include determining whether the goal has been met basedon monitoring the other messages posted to the social medium. A firstpredetermined function may be performed in response to the goal beingmet or a second predetermined function may be performed in response tothe goal not being met.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer programproduct for managing conversations in social media and networks mayinclude a computer readable storage medium having program instructionsembodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is nota transitory medium per se. The program instructions are executable by adevice to cause the device to perform a method that may includeselecting a message posted to a social medium for management andassociating a goal with the selected message for management. The methodmay also include monitoring other messages posted to the social mediumfor messages that are related to the selected message for management.The method may additionally include determining whether the goal hasbeen met based on monitoring the other messages posted to the socialmedium. A first predetermined function may be performed in response tothe goal being met or a second predetermined function may be performedin response to the goal not being met.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of embodiments of the present invention in whichlike reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings and wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1C (collectively FIG. 1) are a flow chart of an example of amethod for conversation management in social media and networks inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of a graphical user interface for specifying ordefining a goal for associating with a posted message under managementin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an example of a goal lookup table in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block schematic diagram of an example of a system forconversation management in social media and networks in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

FIGS. 1A-1C (collectively FIG. 1) are a flow chart of an example of amethod 100 for conversation management in social media and networks inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In block 102, amessage posted to a social medium or network may be selected formanagement. A message selected for management may also be referred to asbeing under management or may be designated as being under management bya social networking system. The message may be selected by the poster orcreator of the message, another participant or user in the social mediaor network, or the message for management may be selected by some otherarrangement, for example, a message may be automatically selected formanagement or under management in response to a predetermined criteria.An example of a predetermined criterion may be that management isautomatically applied to subsequent “reply-to” messages to a firstmessage that is under management or message management may beautomatically applied to all messages in a thread. Other predeterminedcriteria may be that management is applied for specific messages basedon the message content, identity of the user posting the message orother characteristic of the message that may be preset for automaticallyapplying social conversation management as described herein. Inaccordance with an embodiment, an option may also be chosen so thatevery message in a conversation is under management or just messagesthat meet certain conditions, such as for example, messages from certainusers that may have a particular status in an organization or group.

In block 104, the message selected for management may be flagged ordesignated as being under management by the social networking system orsocial conversation management system embodying and performing themethod 100 similar to that described herein.

In block 106, a goal may be associated with the message undermanagement. The goal may be a customized goal or a preset goal. Examplesof goals that may be associated with a message or messages undermanagement may include but is not necessarily limited to a set number ofresponses to the message under management; a particular type of responseor responses to the message under management; a particular number of acertain type of response; a particular respondent or respondents ordesired respondents to the message under management; a preset speed orrate of receipt of responses to the message under management, or anyother goal or metric that may be associated with responses to a messageunder management. The goal may also be used to identify a particularcohort or subset of users to participate in a conversation by settingthe goal to limit the conversation to responses from particularidentified users, from a specific group of users, or otherclassification of respondents or users.

Examples of types of responses may include but are not necessarilylimited to a “Reply to” response, a repost of the message undermanagement by a recipient, a “like” response, a “dislike” response orother types of responses that may express a particular sentiment,attitude, emotion, group association or other characteristic. NaturalLanguage Processing (NLP) may be used to analyze content of a message todetermine a particular sentiment, attitude, emotion or othercharacteristic.

A metric may be set for a goal. For example a user may set the goalassociated with the message under management as a preset numberresponses of any type of response. Another goal may be a preset numberof “like” responses to the message under management. Another example ofa metric associated with a goal may be a preset number of responsesbeing posted that are a particular type response. A time period may alsobe set within which the responses need to be posted or received. Adefault metric may be set for each goal or type of goal if a metric isneeded and not specified. The goal may be selected by the user thatposted the message or by another participant or user.

A graphical user interface (GUI) or other tool provided by the socialconversation management method 100 or system may be used for specifyingor defining a goal associated with a message selected for management.Referring also to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is an example of a graphical userinterface 200 or tool for specifying or defining a goal for associationwith a posted message under management in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. The exemplary GUI 200 may include a feature202 for entering a number of responses required to meet the goal and afeature 204 for entering or selecting a particular type of response froma plurality of different types of responses for the goal. Similar tothat previously described, the types of responses may include but arenot necessarily limited to a “Reply-to” response, a repost response, aresponse that expresses a particular sentiment based on NLP or otherlanguage processing of the response, responses from a particular desiredrespondent or respondents or other characteristic defining a certaintype of response. The GUI 200 may also include a feature 206 forspecifying a speed of responses and a feature 208 for specifying a timelimit within which any responses need to be posted to meet the goal. TheGUI 200 may also include any other features 210 for generating acustomized goal.

In block 108, the messages under management and associated goals may bestored in a look-up table. Referring also to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is anexample of a lookup table 300 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. The lookup table 300 may include a first column or“MESSAGE ID” column 302 and may include cells for inserting anidentification of each message under management. The lookup table 300may also include a second column or “GOAL” column 304 and may includecells for inserting the goal or goals associated with each message undermanagement in the MESSAGE ID column 302. The lookup table 300 mayadditionally include a third column or “CURRENT STATE OF MEETING GOAL”column 306 that may include cells for indicating a state or statustoward meeting the goal in the GOAL column 304, for example, a number ofresponses that have be received or posted toward meeting the goal, anumber of a particular type of response that have been received orposted toward meeting the goal in the GOAL column 304, or other statustoward meeting the goal.

In block 110, traffic, including new messages or posts to the socialmedium or network, may be monitored for messages or posts related to themessage under management. As responses are created on the social mediumor network, server side code (or client side code) may send the responseto an analysis routine or module configured to determine if the newlycreated or posted message is under management and/or related to themessage under management or another message under management. Theanalysis routine or module may include Natural Language Processing (NLP)or other language processing. A search of the social media or networkmay be performed to find traffic or messages related to the particularmessage under management. Traffic monitoring may be activated based on apush event related to the message under management. The traffic may alsobe monitored based upon a timer so that only messages or posts within acertain time period following posting of the message under managementare considered or monitored. Contents of the traffic or each message maybe analyzed to determine if the content of each message is related tothe message under management. NLP or other processing may be performedto analyze the content of each message in the monitored traffic. Messagecomponents, such as N-grams, may be evaluated based on similarity to themessage under management. The message under management and thread partsof the conversation may be classified based on a particular sentimentexpressed in the message.

In block 112 (FIG. 1B), each message that is determined to be related tothe message under management may be compared to the goal to determine ifthe message contributes to meeting goal based on the comparison.

In block 114, a determination may be made if the goal has been met or apreset time period expired. If the goal has been met the method 100 mayadvance to block 116. In block 116, a first predetermined function maybe performed in response to the goal being met. For example, anotification may be posted to at least the user that the goal has beenmet for the selected message under management. The message may also beremoved from management in response to the goal being met.

If the goal has not been met or preset time period expired in block 114,the method 100 may advance to block 118. In block 118, a secondpredetermined function may be performed in response to the goal notbeing met. For example, a message may be posted to participants of thesocial network to prompt the participants to generate responses ortraffic for meeting the goal. A preset time period for the message to beunder management may set and the message will no longer be undermanagement in response to the preset time period expiring. The presettime period may be set by default or may be set by a user or otheradministrator.

In block 120, if the goal is a preset number of responses and the goalhas been met, the method 100 may advance to block 116 similar to thatpreviously described. If the goal has not been met in block 120 orpreset time period for message management has timed out, the method 100may advance to block 122. In block 122, private messages may be postedto members of the user's network requesting responses to meet the goal.

In block 124, if the goal is a particular type of response or number ofresponses of a particular type and the goal has been met, the method 100may advance to block 116 and the method 100 may proceed similar to thatpreviously described. If the goal has not been met in block 124 presettime period for message management has timed out, the method 100 mayadvance to block 126. In block 126, a search for active users thatposted a similar type of response to the type of response specified inthe goal may be performed. The message under management may be promotedin a timeline or activity stream of the active users found in the searchthat posted the similar response type to the response type of the goalin order to prompt these users to generate a response of the particulartype for meeting the goal.

In block 128 (FIG. 1C), if the goal is that the responding user orsocial network participant or participants are a desired respondent orrespondents and the goal has been met, the method 100 may advance toblock 116 similar to that previously described. If the goal has not beenmet in block 128 or message management timed out, the method 100 mayadvance to block 130. In block 130, a message may be posted to the usersor social network participants from whom a response is desired to meetthe goal.

In block 132, if the goal is a particular rate of response and the goalhas been met, the method 100 may advance to block 116 (FIG. 1B) similarto that previously described. If the goal has not been met or messagemanagement timed out in block 132, the method 100 may advance to block134. In block 134, the weight or importance of a message undermanagement may be increased in the social medium or network to encouragea rate of response that may meet the goal. The requirement needed forthe message under management to meet the goal may be posted. Messagesmay also be posted to users or participants in other media or socialnetworks to encourage participation in the social network with themessage that is under management.

The method 100 or system implementing the method 100 may be applicableto any online social network including asymmetric or I follow socialnetworks or media such as Twitter® and symmetric social networks or Iconnect social networks such a Facebook®, Connections or other socialnetworks where member may be connected for communications in bothdirections. Twitter® is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. in the UnitedStates, other countries or both. Facebook® is a trademark of Facebook,Inc. in the United States, other countries or both. Connections is atrademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the UnitedStates, other countries or both.

The method 100 or system implementing the method 100 may be used inmarketing or seeding by driving the importance of a posted message undermanagement so that a desired marketing message is raised in importancevia the responses. For example, a message or item reposted on socialmedia, such as Facebook, may be considered of more importance than amessage or item which has no responses.

The method 100 or system implementing the method 100 may also implementor incorporate a monetization system. For example, a fee structure orsystem may be implemented for use of the message management feature.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention as describedwith respect to the method 100 of FIGS. 1A-1C, user A and user B may bemembers of an online social network and may be connected online. User Amay post a message, for example, “Anyone watching television show CDE?”The message may be flagged by user A using a graphical user interface(GUI) or other tool associated with the social conversation managementsystem on the user's computing device as “under management” and a goalmay be associated with the message. As an example, the goal may benumber of responses equal 2. The posted message may be detected by themethod 100 or system as being under management and monitor for responsesto the posted message. After a preset period of time, if the goal hasnot been met as in block 114 or block 120 (FIG. 1B), the system ormethod 100 may determine that the number of responses is less than thenumber of desired responses. A message may be transmitted or posted touser B that there is a new message that may be of interest to user B toprompt user B to post a response. This function of posting a message toprompt responses to the message under management may be referred to asseeding.

In accordance with another embodiment, user C and user D may be membersof an online social network and may be connected online. User C may posta message, such as “Anyone watching television show ABC?” The messagemay be flagged by user C using a GUI or other tool associated with thesocial conversation management system on the user's computing device as“under management” and a goal may be associated with the message. Thegoal may specify that the type of response or responses wanted are“Reply-to” responses and the number of “Reply-to” responses may be setto equal 2. The system detects the posted message as being undermanagement and monitors for responses to the posted message. In thisexample, user D posts a “likes” response to the posted message undermanagement. The system or method determines that the response does notmeet the “Reply-to” response specified in the goal. After a preset timeperiod without any “Reply-to” responses being posted or received, thesystem or method determines that the number of “Reply-to” responses isless than the number of responses set in the goal. A message may beposted or transmitted to user D and other users in response to the goalnot being met to prompt user D and other users to respond with a postthat may contribute to meeting the goal. This is an example of mixing innew conversation members.

In accordance with another embodiment, user A and user B may be membersof an online social network and may be connected online. User A may posta message “anyone watching the television show ABC?” User A may flag theposted message as being under management and associate a goal with theposted message using a GUI or other tool of the social conversationmanagement method or system. In this example, the goal may be set as thetype of response being positive. Similar to that previously described,the system or method may detect that the posted message is undermanagement and may begin monitoring for responses that are related tothe message. User B may reply, “The show is boring.” The system may useNLP or other language processing technology to determine that theresponse does not contribute to meeting the goal associated with theposted message under management. The message from user B may then befiltered from the subsequent conversation. This is an example of thesocial conversation management system or method filtering out responsesthat do not contribute to meeting the goal associated with the postedmessage under management.

FIG. 4 is a block schematic diagram of an example of a system 400 forconversation management in social media and networks in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. The method 100 of FIGS. 1A-1Cmay be embodied in and performed by the system 400. The system 400 mayinclude a processing device 402. The processing device 402 may be aserver or similar processing device. The processing device 402 mayinclude a processor 404 for controlling operation of the processingdevice 402 and for performing functions, such as those described hereinwith respect to conversation management. The processing device 402 mayalso include a file system 406 or memory. An operating system 408,applications and other programs may be stored on the file system 406 forrunning or operating on the processor 404. A social networking module410 or system may also be stored on the file system 406 and may becompiled and run on the processor 404 to perform the functions forconducting online communications or activity streams between userssimilar to that described herein. The social networking module 410 maybe any type of online communications mechanism for online communicationsor conversations. The method 100 of FIGS. 1A-1C may be embodied in thesocial networking module 410 and performed by the processor 404 when thesocial networking module 410 is compiled and run on the processor 404.

The social networking module 410 may include a social conversationmanagement module 412 or system. The social networking module 410 may beconfigured to perform functions similar to those described withreference to the method 100 in FIGS. 1A-1C.

The social networking module 410 may also include a goal lookup table414. The goal lookup table 414 may be similar to the goal lookup table200 described with reference to FIG. 2. The goal lookup table 414 isshown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4 as a separate component fromthe social conversation management module 412; however the goal lookuptable 414 may also be part of the social conversation management module412.

The social conversation management module 412 and goal lookup table 414,while shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4 as components of thesocial networking module 410, the social conversation management module412 and lookup table 414 may each be a separate component from thesocial networking module 410 in another embodiment.

The processing device 402 may also include one or more input devices,output devices or combination input/output devices, collectively I/Odevices 420. The I/O devices 420 may include, but are not necessarilylimited to, a keyboard or keypad, pointing device, such as a mouse, diskdrive and any other devices to permit a user to interface with andcontrol operation of the processing device 402 and to access the socialnetworking module 410 or system. At least one of the I/O devices 420 maybe a device to read a computer program product, such as computer programproduct 422. The computer program product 422 may be similar to thatdescribed in more detail herein. The social networking module 410 may beloaded on the file system 406 from a computer program product, such ascomputer program product 422.

A member of a social network or user 423 of the system 400 for socialnetworking may use a computer system 424 or communications device toaccess the processing device 402 or server and social networking module410 or system. The computer system 424 or communications device may beany sort of communications device including a mobile or handheldcomputer or communications device. The computer system 424 may include aprocessor 426 to control operation of the computer system 424 and a filesystem 428, memory or similar data storage device. An operating system430, applications 432 and other programs may be stored on the filesystem 428 for running or operating on the processor 426. A web orInternet browser 434 may also be stored on the file system 428 foraccessing the processing device 402 or server via a network 436. Thenetwork 436 may be the Internet, an intranet or other private orproprietary network.

In accordance with an embodiment, a social networking application 438,feature or module may also be stored on the file system 428 and operateon the processor 426 of the user's computer system 424. The socialnetworking application 438 may be any sort of online communicationsmechanism, such as a social networking or social media application,electronic mail client or email application, or other application foronline communications or conversations capable of performing thefunctions and operations described herein. The social networkingapplication 438 may include a social conversation management module 440similar to that described herein. In another embodiment, the socialconversation management module 440 may be a separate module from thesocial networking application 438 and operate in cooperation with thesocial networking application 438 to perform the functions describedherein.

The social networking application 438 may also include a goal lookuptable 442. In another embodiment, the goal lookup table 442 may be partof the social conversation management application 440 or a separateelement. The social networking application 438 operating on the computersystem 424 may interface with or operate in conjunction with the socialnetworking module 410 or system on the processing device 402 or serverto perform the functions and operations described herein forconversation management in a social network. Accordingly, socialnetworking application 438 operating on the computer system 424 mayperform some of the functions and operations of the method 100 andsocial networking module 410 operating on the server 402 may performother functions of the method 100. Some embodiments of the presentinvention may include only the social networking module 410 and socialconversation management module 412 on the processing device 402 orserver, and other embodiments may include only the social networkingapplication 838 and module 440 on the client computer system 424 orcommunications device.

The computer system 424 may also include a display 442, a speaker system444, and a microphone 446 for voice communications. One or more userinterfaces may be presented on the display 442 for controlling operatingthe social networking module 410 and social networking application 438and for performing the operations and functions described herein.

The computer system 424 may also include one or more input devices,output devices or combination input/output devices, collectively I/Odevices 448. The I/O devices 448 may include a keyboard or keypad,pointing device, such as a mouse, disk drives and any other devices topermit a user, such as user 423, to interface with and control operationof the computer system 424 and to access the social networkingapplication 438 and social networking module or system 410 on server402. The I/O devices 448 may also include at least one device configuredto read computer code from a computer program product, such as computerprogram product 422.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of embodiments ofthe invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the”are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that theterms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to embodiments of the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of embodiments ofthe invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of embodiments of the invention and the practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand embodiments of the invention for various embodiments withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that anyarrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may besubstituted for the specific embodiments shown and that embodiments ofthe invention have other applications in other environments. Thisapplication is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of thepresent invention. The following claims are in no way intended to limitthe scope of embodiments of the invention to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A system for managing conversations in social mediaand networks, comprising: a processor; a module operating on theprocessor for managing conversations in a social medium, the modulebeing configured to perform a set of functions comprising: selecting amessage posted to the social medium for management; associating a goalwith the selected message for management; monitoring other messagesposted to the social medium for messages that are related to theselected message for management; determining whether the goal has beenmet based on monitoring the other messages posted to the social medium;and performing one of: a first predetermined function in response to thegoal being met and a second predetermined function in response to thegoal not being met.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the set offunctions further comprises storing an identification of the selectedmessage for management, the associated goal and a current state of theassociated goal.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the set offunctions further comprises analyzing content of each new message postedto the social medium to determine relatedness to the selected messagefor management.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the set of functionsfurther comprises: comparing a new message related to the message formanagement to the goal; and determining if the new message contributesto meeting the goal based on the comparison.
 19. A computer programproduct for managing conversations in social media and networks, thecomputer program product comprising a computer readable storage mediumhaving program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computerreadable storage medium is not a transitory medium per se, the programinstructions being executable by a device to cause the device to performa method comprising: selecting a message posted to a social medium formanagement; associating a goal with the selected message for management;monitoring other messages posted to the social medium for messages thatare related to the selected message for management; determining whetherthe goal has been met based on monitoring the other messages posted tothe social medium; and performing one of: a first predetermined functionin response to the goal being met and a second predetermined function inresponse to the goal not being met.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 19, wherein the method further comprises: analyzing content ofeach new message posted to the social medium to determine relatedness tothe selected message for management; comparing a new message related tothe message for management to the goal; and determining if the newmessage contributes to meeting the goal based on the comparison.
 21. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the set of functions further comprisesdesignating the selected message for management as being undermanagement in response to the message being selected for management. 22.The system of claim 21, wherein selecting the message posted to thesocial medium for management comprises selecting every message in aconversation being under management.
 23. The system of claim 15, whereinselecting the message for management comprises automatically designatinga particular message as being under management in response to a presetcriteria.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the preset criteriacomprises the particular message being a subsequent reply-to message toa first message under management.
 25. The system of claim 15, whereinthe set of functions further comprises storing an identification of theselected message under management, the associated goal and a currentstate of the associated goal, wherein the identification of the selectedmessage under management, the associated goal and the current state ofthe associated goal are stored in a lookup table.
 26. The system ofclaim 15, wherein performing the second predetermined function inresponse to the goal not being met comprises transmitting a message toat least one other participant in the social medium that prompts the atleast one other participant to post a response that contributes tomeeting the goal.
 27. The system of claim 15, wherein the goal comprisesa set number of responses, the set of functions further comprisingposting a new message that prompts a group of responses to the selectedmessage in order to meet the goal in response to the goal not being met.28. The system of claim 15, wherein the goal comprises a particularnumber and type of responses, the method further comprising: searchingactive users for users that posted a similar type response to a typeresponse for meeting the goal in response to the goal not being met; andpromoting the selected message for management in a timeline of eachactive user that posted the similar type of response to the type ofresponse for meeting the goal.
 29. The system of claim 15, wherein thegoal comprises receiving a response from a desired respondent, the setof functions further comprising posting a new message to the desiredrespondent in response to the goal not being met.
 30. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the goal comprises a preset rate of response, the setof functions further comprising increasing a weight of importance of theselected message for management to prompt additional responses to meetthe goal.